S&W TC Contender service

[cheetah]

I need to start therapy tonight - before my case closes.
A few months ago I bought a 23" 30-30 Contender barrel. It was so much fun that I chopped it to 16" and bought another one and it thoroughly rejected jacketed bullets.There was a rough ring hammered into the bore about halfway down.

Two weeks after I reported it to the S&W computer I got a return authorization and for the next four weeks they worked diligently on it. They lapped the bore, polished the chamber, and even recut the c'bore - leaving it in the white.

Apparently they overlooked the star in the rifling or didn't use enough lap to remove the pothole.
They actually sent that golf club back to me and now it's on. They got it back again and while I was at work some tech called and started an argument with my wife about what I gotta do.

I'll let you know what happens but has anybody else seen TC swirling in the toilet? S&W seems happy to beat the brand into dust.

[NVScouter]

Happened about a day after S&W took over. I miss the old TC guys that's for sure

[Tatume]

What's a "c'bore?"

[cheetah]

Counterbore - for rim. Yes that's entirely unrelated to the road bump in the bore.
If you have a Contender barrel problem you'll meet Neil, their esteemed specialist who answers a business phone, "I though I told you not to call me". He plays phone games with Alison and drops the ball occasionally.

When he figured out who I was he ridiculed my wife for not having his deep technical acumen. Not only did he shoot .4 minute groups with it, he showed the step, (an unhammered spot or mandrel crud) to engineering and they said all was fine.

Nobody, but nobody, but nobody will talk to me and this kid is TC's ambassador to the shooting world.

The TC warranty isn't worth a nickel at this point. If I get that stick back buyer beware because it's going on flea bay. I might consider cutting it to the 14" flaw and using it as a pistol and sell a Super14 to buy another long barrel.

Ventures sit at Cabelas for $299 and they can rot there. No way will I buy another thing from Springfield, MA.

[ShooterAZ]

Yes, it was a sad day for T/C lovers when S&W took over. I love my Contenders...Heaven help me when something breaks that I can't fix myself.

[jsheyn]

the sad thing is I love my Smith revolvers and my TC's but, man they sure leave alot to be desired for in their customer service and production..... but then again seems like everyone is going CHEAP..not to be mistaken with inexpensive

[cheetah]

It's back again. For those contemplating Thompson Center - this is Smith and Wesson's idea of a good89427 barrel. The star is where the barrel bulges but their engineering folks are fine with that, even after two trips.

[FergusonTO35]

Why did S&W buy them in the first place? They can't be making money on it. Nobody carries TC guns around here anymore. In fact the only thing TC I ever see for sale anymore is Bore Butter and lead bullets- products for which TC no longer makes guns for!

[Iowa Fox]

Why did S&W buy them in the first place? They can't be making money on it. Nobody carries TC guns around here anymore. In fact the only thing TC I ever see for sale anymore is Bore Butter and lead bullets- products for which TC no longer makes guns for!

That's a darn good question. One that I have asked many times but no answers. I don't think S&W had any intention from the git go to continue the product line- only dismantle it to its demise. The original NH organization was as top notch as it gets with a superb product & customer support. All the original employees thrown to the cold. I would be surprised if S&W is actually manufacturing the barrels for the TC frames.

[scb]

In all fairness, just before they were sold T/C said there was nothing wrong with the Contender barrel that produced these even after being sent back twice.
89510

[FergusonTO35]

That baffles me. TC was not a competitor to S&W in any way, they served totally different market segments. It cannot have been cheap to purchase TC, sell the facilities and unneeded equipment, move everything else to Springfield and get it set up there, then hire and/or train people to produce and service the TC line. Looking at their website TC offers just a very slimmed down selection of what they have had for years. The products that put TC on the map, the Contender and traditional muzzleloaders, have vanished. What remains is not too different from what's available from other makers in a very crowded market: bolt action rifles and inline muzzleloaders.

I know that S&W has been hankering to be a respected long gun maker for decades with little success for their several efforts. The I-Bolt and side by side shotguns are the latest lead balloons from S&W. Maybe they thought that buying TC would finally bring the kind of success in the long gun market S&W has always pined for. That's the best thing I can think of.

[wv109323]

They bought T/C for T/C's barrel making equipment. They were not interested in T/C product line just the fine barrels they could make. S&W needed barrels for their AR-15 style rifles.

[Iowa Fox]

I have long heard that S&W wanted that barrel making equipment. The more I have thought about it lately I'm not so sure I'm buying it. I just can't seem to make the details work out in my mind.

[nhrifle]

Anyone looking to have the "easy open" conversion done to their Contender frame is out of luck unless they happen to know one of the original T/C smiths.

[FergusonTO35]

Wow, seems like an expensive and troublesome way just to get some barrel making capability. Kind of like buying a restaurant just to eat lunch!

[Artful]

Apparently they sent to established barrel makers - who all declined to make barrels for S&W - so it was up to them to find a way to make their own barrels - T/C had the equipment & technicians so they purchased the company and are dropping all the other product lines they don't care about.

I got this from a Vendor at the SAR gunshow that specialized in T/C's - he also said that if someone sent in a T/C muzzleloader that T/C would just cut a check for $150 and not fix/return the rifle.

Sad days for T/C owners.

He said after the original principals passed on the inherited owners didn't want to continue company so sold to S&W pretty easily.

[NVScouter]

Anyone looking to have the "easy open" conversion done to their Contender frame is out of luck unless they happen to know one of the original T/C smiths.

I got the second to last plunger set. The tech told me flat out they werent getting more and had no idea how long the Contender stuff and his job was around. I better get a hell of a deal on an older (and better) barrel to take that risk. Not to mention hording my old plungers.

I love my S&W Bodyguard, my 22A is nice despite having gone back to S&W. I never liked the TC bolts too much like Browning X-Bolts that I dont care for either. So no idea where S&W is going with business.

[nhrifle]

I got the second to last plunger set. The tech told me flat out they werent getting more and had no idea how long the Contender stuff and his job was around. I better get a hell of a deal on an older (and better) barrel to take that risk. Not to mention hording my old plungers.

I love my S&W Bodyguard, my 22A is nice despite having gone back to S&W. I never liked the TC bolts too much like Browning X-Bolts that I dont care for either. So no idea where S&W is going with business.

When you have time, could you PM me with measurements of parts required from the conversion, pics of a converted frame, or any information you have on the needed modifications? I have a customer with two Contenders that need that treatment and I don't want to hack up his frames without some idea what needs to be done.

[FergusonTO35]

S&W needs to stick to revolvers, it's what they do best. Nobody around here can keep them in stock so why mess with long guns and phony TC products? Just keep making the wheel guns everybody wants and enjoy the cash cow that Dan and Horace started before the Civil War.

[fryboy]

all i know is that the barrels on my watch/wish list at graf's and other places have been discontinued eg; no hope in hades of ever being able to afford what they no longer make ( btw ? most on my wish list were the standard variety of 28" fluted pro-hunters .223,243,7-08,.308 etc ) i'm currently breaking in a begarra barrel but of the many things it's not is of ye olde t/c quality :(
no idea of s&w's commitment to/for the future of t/c ,especially concerning parts , the encores i suppose they'll make for a bit ( at least until they wither and die from a lack of serious advertising and commitment to the product line )

[NVScouter]

When you have time, could you PM me with measurements of parts required from the conversion, pics of a converted frame, or any information you have on the needed modifications? I have a customer with two Contenders that need that treatment and I don't want to hack up his frames without some idea what needs to be done.

Sure it's pretty simple. Just the plunger and spring held in by a roll pin if I remember correctly. The angles are cut differently you may be able to get them from Bellm TC. T/C used to send them out free since it was a design change and gave a durn about customers then

[leadman]

fryboy, watch the welds on the mounting block on the Bergara. I had a 243 and a 270 barrel that the wleds stretched on they rattled when mounted on the frame. Bergara replaced them and I sold them without firing them. I was using loads that were under the max shown in current info on the powder companies websites and case expansion did not equal factory loads.

[fryboy]

i'll make sure to do that amigo ( and thanks ! ) this one is a 243 , barely broke in at the moment ( 54 rounds so far ) i have a load that does fair in 3 other guns that's around 1 grain below most listed book load's max , i started small and worked up to it and it's too hot for this particular barrel , according to the groups i was getting i'm going to play around 1 grain over starting charge , i figured 3 shots under a dime size is a good starting place lolz , of course i also have some other loads worked up waiting to be shot with some lighter j-words ( 55 gr. varmageddons actually )
the weld on it actually looks sweet ( kind of impressive looking compared to a few i've seen on t/c's actually but i also know that it's not what's on the outside that matters but the inside ) i also do not plan on hot rodding it

[Buzzard II]

Sell the *** T/C barrel on flea bay and contact Mike Bellm at bellmtcs.com to buy a good shooting barrel. Cut your losses and start enjoying your T/C. Good luck! Bob

[btroj]

Makes me happy to know I don't own a single Smith. I do have a Contender.

[part_timer]

I have 2 of the S&W encore frames and they so-so, Nothing special and the triggers suck. Last weekend an opportunity presented its self to purchase a 6 digit serial number contender frame with the sliding safety and the trigger is glass smooth. The difference between the new and old is glaring. I miss TC for sure.

[BCB]

I needed some info on what butt stock and what forend went on a 23” carbine barrel for one of my Contender frames…

So, I e-mail T/C and asked the question. I got an e-mail back asking what model I had. I was confused by this so I replied that I had a Contender, not a G2 Contender…

And as a bit more help, I gave them the serial numbers, all but the last 3 digits, for a couple of my frames as I figured that might help with the question…

Still waiting on a reply from them. That was nearly 4 weeks ago…

I know there will be no reply and I got the answer from another source…

I must admit that I am a bit anticipatory of the quality of the 23” barrel that I will receive today or tomorrow according the tracking…

Guess we will see…

No more new T/C stuff for me anymore…

And so it goes…

Good-luck…BCB